Nintendo Takes Down Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon Multiplayer for Security Reasons

The Nintendo games Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon have been taken offline, presumably so the developers can fix a vulnerability related to online play.

Just months ago, Nintendo patched the infamous ENLBufferPwnvulnerability that hackers could use to fully take over Switch, 3DS and We U game consoles. The initial report mentioned that the affected titles included Mario Kart 8 Deluxe version 2.1.0, Animal Crossing: New Horizons version 2.0.6, ARMS version 5.4.1, Splatoon 2 version 5.5.1 and Super Mario Maker 2 version 3.0.2.

One of the biggest problems is that some of those titles are no longer supported, and Nintendo will likely never release a patch for them. Nintendo didn't reveal the reasons for taking the games offline and only provided minimal information.

"This network service is currently unavailable due to urgent maintenance required to fix a vulnerability related to online play. We do not yet have information on when network services can be restored. We apologise for any inconvenience caused," said the company in a short notice.

According to a VideoGamesChronicle report citing a data miner named  OatmealDome, the culprit is very likely the ENLBufferPwn vulnerability. Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon remained the two titles that have yet to be patched against this exploit.

Nintendo didn't say how long it will keep multiplayer closed for these two games, so it's unclear how long people will have to wait to play them again. Given that proof of concept and videos on how this vulnerability affects the game consoles are already available online, Nintendo's hurry to close the vulnerability for the last two games is understandable.